This one definitely made me cry. Carey and Jase were perfect for each other but it just took Carey a little longer to figure it out. I normally don't like a lot of flashbacks but it worked here. It really did. They always had me on the edge of my seat though. My husband was in the Army for over 25 years and was deployed twice (He made it back safely) but unfortunately he had some friends who didn't and also had some come back injured. Those scenes in the book were hard to read sometime, but when Carey and Jase were together even as friends you could feel the chemistry between them. Man they were both hot when they finally took it further. I mean H.O.T hot, hehe I didn't mind reading all they went through to be together because of that HEA that I love in the books that I read. This really was a great read.

3.75 stars, review of the 2nd edition. The romance, while nice and convincing, could have used more room to breathe and I would have liked to see an epilogue as well. The ending came on too sudden. Carey's road to self discovery also felt a bit too easy. I understand his journey was a bit more complex in the first edition. I loved both the concept of Hope Ranch and the feeling of comraderie in Jase's band.

I read this at about the same time as [b:Squared Away|37544729|Squared Away (Out of Uniform, #5)|Annabeth Albert|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1517539395s/37544729.jpg|59147902] -- a book that shares some similarities with this one but does not have the same substance and character development etc. This book was far more enjoyable however it did have a few flaws that distracted from the main story ... the biggest would he the abrupt and sudden whiplash sustained with the two MC moved from best friends to lovers who have marathon sex that isn't awkward at all? It was just too implausible and too much for me ...

Otherwise, it was are largely forgettable book for me -- I finished it a few days ago and hardly remember very much about it. For a first book it is better than most, however ... its missing something ...

I will continue to read this books by the author to see how her style develops ... there is potential that is worth exploring here.

It started out good but slowly dwindled into lameness.

“The best kind of love is friendship that has caught fire.”

A beautiful sad, haunting, romantic and lovable story. Friendship that turns into love. But not in a easy way, the friendship between Jase and Carey is one that begins in the army. When Carey got injured, Jase saved him. Over the years they keep seeing each other but both feel more fore each other than only friendship. But they're also scared. Scared for admitting it. Scared for the reaction of each other. When they finally admit it, it isn't easy. Their love is perfect but Carey is scared. Scared for his feelings and scared for his love.

The way they keep fighting, keep singing, keep living is beautiful and shows their strength.

Ok. It's official, Melanie Hansen writes the best M/M military romances eveeeer.

My God, this was such an enjoyable ride.

Not as anguish as Point of Contact, thank god. I don't think I have structure enough to endure another one just yet.

Anyway, this one's focused more on the romance and it's gorgeous.

Carey and Jase are best friends. They served together in the marines until Carey gets hurt in combat and have his leg shredded by shrapnel. Jase, army paramedic at the time, is able to save Carey's life but not his leg. Their friendship remains strong after both get discharged and that's when their story begins. You see, Jase has always loved Carey, but Carey has always been straight until one day he wasn't...

I can't stress enough how dreamy Jase is, outgoing, patient, caring, understanding, supportive. But don't worry, he's not perfect, he has his bad sides too.

On the other hand, Carey is quiet, serious, stubborn and set on his ways. He struggles a lot with accepting things how they are instead of how he thinks they should be. I totally understand him, though. He has his mind set on how his life should look like, he has expectations for himself and thinks marrying a woman and having a conventional relationship and family is what's right for him.

I know what you are thinking "argh, another closet case. He's going to be hot and cold and in denial until the very end". Well, there's a little bit of that, but honestly, most of the book is about Carey and Jase building this new relationship between them. And there's plenty of hot, caring, loving times.   

It's an extremely well done GFY, I'll tell you that. The sex is smoking hot and the transition from friendship to love is delicious.

I'm not gonna lie, though. I felt strong urges to shake the hell out of Carey sometimes.

I really love their background and how that impact their personalities and choices, it made the character have more depth. You see, Carey frustrated me, but I could understand him. He's a foster care kid, used to care for himself and not share his burdens, feelings and thoughts with anyone. So yeah, I could totally see why he acted the way he did. Same goes for Jase, he's open and caring because he had a good structure growing up, a close family, caring and understanding. So he put himself out there with more ease than Carey.

I loved them both together and as individuals, loved the sided characters too, and absolutely adored this story.

While I was reading, Oceans by Seafret began playing and became my own soundtrack for this book. There's so much longing and love in this song that fits perfectly with the story.

Good read for you, guys.

An unlikely love story (but what romance novel isn't unlikely?) between two soldiers, one of whom is disabled after the war. What surprised and delighted me is that this disability is treated with sensitivity and respect. The emotions of the character are honored and realistic and he is no less strong/complex/attractive once he has lost a leg. It's not perfect, but it is a far better book than I expected when I started reading, and a joy to see queer disabled representation.

2.75

Phew! i finished it.

I Liked it but not the way i wanted to. The story was good but did not hold my attention from the start, at around 60% it started to but it was too late, the epilogue was sweet though.

My Issues

-Jase treated Jayden so badly that i felt sorry for him.
-I did not feel the chemistry between Jase and Carey the way i wanted to, and the GFY did not work for me, i found myself skimming the sex scenes.( i never,ever do that) and we had a butt virgin! and i felt:



-The flashbacks *Sighs*
-I felt Carey was just selfish and he even mentions it so many times.

But Overall its me not the book! We did not click there was something missing.



Since this was a debut book for this author, i will read the rest of the series another time. When i am not thinking about L&T.